Closure operator



Feb. 27, 1951 A. SCHULTZ CLOSURE OPERATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2,1947 m w m m a M) MM E 2 8 7 Z i M j V ATTORNEY Feb. 27, 1951 SCHULTZ2,543,711

CLOSURE OPERATOR Filed July 2, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

v. ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOSUREOPERATOR Abraham Schultz, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application July 2, 1947, Serial No. 758,575

14 Claims. (01. 160-312) 1 This invention relates to closures forbuildings, particularly to improvements in vertically movable closuresfor door and window openings, and has for its primary object to providean improved counterbalancing arrangement therefor.

It has been the practice heretofore in raising and lowering heavyclosures and the like to employ counterbalancing devices forfacilitating movement thereof. Such devices in the main comprisetorsional springs that are wound up as the closure descends, therebysetting up an increased potential force when the closure reaches itsultimate descent, which force assists in lifting the closure uponmanually raising the same, the spring unwinding with decreasing force asthe closure is rolled upon its drum. Counterbalancing devices employingtorsional type springs, however, are unsatisfactory, particularly inview of the heavy steel wire that is required and also in View of theend connections therefor. 'Attempts have been made to overcome thesedisadvantages by utilizing the expansive and contractive force ofsprings but, insofar as applicant is aware, these havealso beenunsuccessful.

It is therefore, another object of the invention to overcome the abovedisadvantages and to provide an improved counterbalancing springarrangement in which the spring element is expanded and contractedlongitudinally instead of twisted.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improvedarrangement for translating rectilinear motion of an expanding andcontracting spring to rotary motion in a counterbalancing device.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide an improvedcounterbalancing device in which the increasing weight of the closure asit approaches the closed condition is proportion-.

ately compensated.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a counterbalancingdevice for rolling doors, fire stops, etc., that is of improvedconstruction, compact, light, simple, and cheap to manufacture.

With the above objects in view one embodiment of the invention disclosesa counterbalancing device for a rolling door which is secured at oneedge to'a hollow drum and coiled thereon, the drum being rotativelysupported between the uprights of an opening in a building structure.Within the drum is disposed a coiled spring having one end rigidlysecured thereto while the other end of the spring is connected to a gearfreely rotatable in the drum. A stationary gear also in the drum is inmesh engagement with the first gear, so that as the drum rotates thefirst gear alsorotates, thereby extending or retracting the springlongitudinally with respective dropping or raising of the door.

In another embodiment of the invention the counterbalancing device isprovided with an auxiliary spring which becomes efiective only when therolling door approaches its closed position, the auxiliary spring beingsecured at one end to the drum. The other end of the auxiliary spring isprovided with a slotted member.

In another embodiment of the invention there is disclosed in the drum agear reduction train with sprockets connected by a link chain to a heavyspring and a weaker spring, the weaker spring having a slotted member atits free end and efiective only when a cross-bar in the link chainreaches the end of the slot.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of thisinvention, reference may be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation view of a rollable type door disposed in anopening of a structure with the door partially uncoiled from the drum atthe top thereof;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinally sectional view of the counterbalancing deviceof my invention with the counterbalancing spring in the retractedposition;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2 bringing outthe anti-frictional rollers for guiding the movable end of the spring;

Fig. 4 isa sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 2 showing thedetailed connection of the cross-bolt, spring, and anti-frictionrollers;

Fig. 5-is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 2 showing theconnection at the fixed end of the spring;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified counterbalancingdevice for heavy duty Work showing a gear reduction train coupled by apair of link chains to a main and auxiliary spring;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 1-1 of Fig. 6 bringing outthe slotted member of the auxiliary spring;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a counterbalancing device showing a singlechain connection; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9--9 of 8 bringi g out thetermination of the two ends of the chain.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive,there is Shown a closure or door IIJ, preferably constituted byinterconnected fiexible metal strips of well known construction, such asinterconnected corrugated slats, one end of the door being secured inany suitable manner upon a drum I2, which is disposed under a sheetmetal canopy or hood I4 carried upon a building structure I6. Uponrotation of the drum the door is adapted to be wound or coiled thereuponin the open position, the edges of the door being guided in channels I8disposed at the sides of an opening IS in the building structure (seeFig. 1).

The drum I2 comprises a hollow cylinder 28, a concentrically disposedshaft 22 at the right end (see Fig. 2) and a bearing member 24 at theleft end thereof. The shaft 22 is preferably secured to the cylinder 20through a pair of disks 28, which are welded both to the shaft and tothe cylinder, the inner disk being secured to the cylinder by a plugweld 28. The free end of the shaft 22 is shown extending through acasing as and bearing 32, both of which are secured together and mountedin the building structure. Within the casing 30 is disposed a gear 34that is rigidly carried upon the shaft 22, as by a key and key-waycombination 36. Thus, it is readily seen that the gear 34, shaft 22, andcylinder 29 will rotate as a single unit.

In mesh with the gear 34 is shown a pinion 38, which in turn ispreferably integral with a sprocket wheel 48 rotatably supported upon ashaft 42 journalled in the casing 30. The sprocket 42 is adapted to bemanually rotated by a chain 44, whereby the drum I2 may be revolved tocoil or uncoil the flexible door Ill.

The left bearing member 24 includes a flange 46, which is rigidlysecured to the cylinder 20, as by fiat headed screws 48 flush with thesur face of th cylinder in order to preserve auniform externalperipheral surface; and within the bearing member 24 is disposed a shaft50 that is also mounted in an end bearing 52 having a hub 54. The endbearing 52 is shown rigidly secured, as by bolt-nut combinations 56, toa plate 58 attached to the building structure IS in any suitable manner.To prevent vibration of the shaft 58, which is normally stationary, thehub 54 is provided with openings 60 disposed preferably 90 apart, one ofsaid openings being adapted to register with an opening 62 in the shaft50 when the shaft is at the desired orientation, as will appearhereinafter. registry of said openings the two parts are fastenedtightly together by the usual nut-bolt combination 64, thereby affordinga more rigid supporting surface for the shaft 50.

At its inner end the shaft 55 is of reduced diameter and to thisextremity is rigidly secured, as by a tapered pin 66, a bevel gear 68,which is normally stationary alone with the shaft 58. Gear 68 is shownin mesh engagement with a pair of bevel gears I0, I2 that are rotatablydisposed upon a gear shaft I4 preferably'welded in openings in thecylinder 20. The shaft I4 is shorter than the dameter of the cylinder28, thereby preventing the ends thereof from projecting beyond thesurface of the cylinder 28. The gear is rigidly afl-lxed to a sleeve It,as by a weld connection, although these parts may be made integral, andupon this sleeve is formed an eye I8 located along the longitudinal axisof the cylinder 20. The bevel gear I2 includes its own hub or sleeve 80,which is separate from that of the sleeve I6, and functions as an idlerUpon 4 gear to balance the force presented by gear I0 upon gear 68.However, this gear I2 is not necessary and may be eliminated.

Through the eye I8 is passed a cable 82, both ends of which are loopedaround a movable pin 84 and secured thereto by bands 86. The pin 84 isin turn connected to one end of a resilient element, such as a coiledspring 88, by a pair of straps 98, a cottor pin 92 being disposed ateach end'of the pin 84 in order to keep the straps in their repectivepositions. To prevent the .spring 88 from frictionally engaging thesides of the cylinder 2!], a pair of rollers 94 rotatably carried onpins 98 are provided as anti-friction elements. The pins 96 are carriedupon angle brackets 98, see Fig. 4, mounted upon-plates IIJn, which arconnected through the straps to the pin 84, the various parts beingsecured together preferably by welds I 02, as shown, to form a singleassembly. The other end of the spring is connected by a pair of strapsI24 to a flatheaded bolt I06 threadedly engageable with the wall of thecylinder 28, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

It is readily apparent from inspection of Figures 2 and 3 that rotationof the cylinder 28 by chain 44, as described hereinbefore, will causegears I9 and I2 to rotate, since gear 68 is stationary. Rotation ofgearxlll will therefore cause the cable 82 to wind thereupon and thespring 88 to become elongated towards the left, as viewed in Figs. 2 and3, without any twisting action on the part of the spring. Thearrangement in Figs. 2 and 3 is representative of the condition wherethe closure I0 is wound upon the drum I2. Thus, as the closure isunwound from the drum the tension of the spring is increased until theclosure is dropped the full length of the opening I9, therebysubstantially counterbalancing the weight thereof, so that the closureI!) may be raised with minimum effort by the operator.

To assure that the proper counterbalancin tension is available in thespring 88, a spring adjusting arrangement is provided. As shown at theleft of Figs. 2 and 3, it comprises an element I88 having a hub I II]rigidly secured to the shaft 50, as by a pin H2. The element I88 isprovided along its periphery with spaced radial openings II4 into whichis adapted to be placed a pin IIS carried upon a bracket I I8 aifixed inany suitable manner to the plate 58. In operation. the tension of thespring 88 is adjusted by rotating the element I08, as by a spannerwrench (not shown) in the required direction, the shaft 58 and gears 68,Ill and I2 rotating therewith and the cable 82 winding upon the sleeveI6. Upon the desired spring tension being obtained the pin I I 6 isdropped into the registered opening II4, thereby maintaining the shaft50 in a stationary condition.

Referring now to Figs. 6 and '7 there is shown another embodiment of theinvention which includes a reduction gearing arrangement and which isparticularly adapted for counterbalancing larger and heavier closures bythe use of main and auxiliary springs. Employing like characters forlike parts, the stationary bevel gear 58 on shaft 50 is'shown in meshengagement with a single bevel gear I24 having an elongated hub I22rotatably disposed upon a shaft I24 rigidly secured, as by welds, in thecylinder 28. Upon the hub I22 is fixedly attached along the axis of thecylinder 28 a pinion I26, which is shown in mesh engagement with a gearI28 having a greater number of teeth than the pinion I25. The gear I28is rotatably carried upon a sleeve I30 and,

in turn, a shaft I32 fixedly secured to the cylinder 20, as shown, apair of sprocket gears I34, one on each side of the gear I28, beingpreferably welded both to the gear Iand to the sleeve I30, so that thegears I28, E34 and the sleeve I rotate as a single unit.

To each of the sprocket gears I34 is fastened, as by a pin I36, one endof a link chain I38, the other end of which is connected to a movablepin I in any suitable manner, as by a strap I42. Mounted adjacent theends of the pin I40 are shown straps I44 connecting one end of a mainspring I 46 thereto, while the other end of the main spring is connectedby straps I58 to a stationary pin I50 rigidly secured to the cylinder20. Within the main spring I46 is shown an auxiliary spring I52, whichis connected at one end by straps I54 to the pin I50 and at the otherend to elongated members I56 having slots I58 of predetermined lengththerein. Th pin I40 is adapted to slide in these slots I58 and, tomaintain the elements I56 at their set interval, a bushing I60 ismounted therebetween on the pin I40. Thus it is readily seen thatmovement of the pin I40 to the left, as viewed in Figs. '7 and 8, willextend the main spring I46 but will, be unable to extend the auxiliaryspring I54 until the left end of the slot I58 is reached thereby. Inother words, the auxiliary spring I54, is rendered efiective only whenthe closure I0 (Fig. 1) approaches its lowermost position, thereby moreevenly counterbalancing the closure during the overall movement thereof.

Referring now to Figs. 8 and 9 there is shown still another embodimentof the invention, similar to that of Fig. 1, in which a link chain I 62is utilized for interconnecting a spring I54 coupled at its stationaryend by straps I06 to a pin I68 rigidly secured to the cylinder 20 and atits movable end by straps tT0= to a pin I'I2. To the pin I12 isconnected, as by a strap I74, one end of the link chain I 62, which isengageable with the teeth of a sprocket gear N8, the other end of whichis connected by a resilient member I80 to the stationary pin I68. Thesprocket gear I18 is shown rigidly fastened to a sleeve I02, which isrotatably mounted upon a pin I84 fixedly attached to the cylinder in thehereinbefore described manner. A bevel gear I80 is also rigidlyconnected to the sprocket gear I18 and sleeve I82, the gear I86 being inmesh engagement with the stationary gear 68. The operation of thisembodiment is substantially similar to that described hereinbefore, themain distinction residing in the fact that the chain IE2 is not coiledupon the sprocket I78 during the winding operation.

While the invention has been shown and described as embodying certainfeatures merely for the purpose of illustration, it is clear to anyoneskilled in this art that modifications are possible by the substitutionof mechanical equivalents without departing from the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims. The invention is,therefore, not to be understood as limited to thespecific embodimentsshown but includes, necessarily, any other known arrange-- ment ofsimilar scope which can be adapted by a person skilled in the art to theperformance of the functions hereinbefore described.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a rotatable drum, a nontorsional resilient elementcarried therein, means for securing one end of said resilient element tosaid drum, a gear rotatably supported in said drum, means adapted to becarried around said gagement with said rotatable gear, said rotatablegear upon rotation of said drum in one direction being adapted to exerta pull upon said interconnecting means to expand said resilient elementlongitudinally.

2. In combination, a rotatable drum, a nontorsional spring carriedtherein, one end of said spring being rigidly attached to said drum, agear including a collar thereon rotatably mounted in said drum, meansincluding a cable for interconnecting said gear and the other end ofsaid spring, and a stationary gear in mesh engagement with saidrotatable gear disposed in said drum, whereby said rotatable gear isadapted to revolve in response to rotation of said drum, said rotatablegear upon rotation of said drum being adapted to wind or unwind saidcable upon or from said collar and thereby respectively expand orcontract said spring longitudinally along said drum.

3. In combination, a rotatable drum, a nontorsional spring carriedtherein, one end of said spring being rigidly attached to said drum, agear including a collar thereon rotatably mounted in said drum, meansincluding a cable for interconnecting said gear and the other end ofsaid spring, anti-friction means including a cable on said other end ofsaid spring in engagement with said drum, and a stationar gear in meshengagement with said rotatable gear disposed in said drum, whereby saidrotatable gear is adapted to revolve in response to rotation of saiddrum, said rotatable gear upon rotation of said drum being adapted towind or unwind said cable upon or from said collar and therebyrespectively expand or contract said spring longitudinally along saiddrum.

4. In combination, a vertically movable member, a counterbalance forsaid member comprising a rotatable drum, a non-torsional spring withinsaid drum, one end of said spring being rigidly connected to said drum,a gear including a collar thereon rotatably supported within said drum;means including a cable for interconnecting said gear and the other endof said spring, said cable being adapted to be wound upon or unwoundfrom said collar upon rotation of said gear, and a stationary gearcarried within said drum, said gears being in mesh engagement with eachother and adapted to translate rotation of said drum to rectilinearmovement of said spring, said spring being expanded upon rotation ofsaid collar, rotatable gear, and drum in response to descent of saidvertically movable member, whereby an increasing rectilinear force isset up to counterbalance the increasing weight of said member.

5. In combination, a vertically movable member, a counterbalancecomprising a rotatable drum, upon which said member is adapted to becoiled, a non-torsional spring within said drum, one end of said springbeing rigidly connected to said drum, a gear including a collar thereonrotatably supported within said drum, an eye on said gear, a cablepassed through said eye with the ends thereof terminated on the otherend of said spring, said cable being adapted to be wound upon or unwoundfrom said collar upon rotation of said gear, and a stationary gearcarried within said drum, said gears being in mesh engagement with eachother, said spring being expanded upon descent of said verticallymovable member,

whereby an increasing rectilinear force is set up to counterbalance theincreasing weight of said member.

6. In combination, a vertically movable member, a counterbalancecomprising a rotatable drum upon which said member is adapted to becoiled, a non-torsional spring within said drum, one end of said springbeing rigidly connected to said drum, a gear rotatably supported withinsaid drum, a spocket gear rigidly coupled to said gear, means includinga link chain adapted to be coiled around said sprocket gear forinterconnecting said sprocket gear and the other end of said spring, anda stationary gear carried within said drum, said gears being in meshengagement with each other, said spring being expanded upon rotation ofsaid sprocket gear and rotatable gear in response to descent of saidvertically movable member, whereby an increasing rectilinear force isset up to counterbalance the increasing weight of said member.

7. Counterbalancing means for a rollable door comprising, incombination, a rotatable hollow member for carrying said door, one endof said door being rigidly secured thereto, a non-torsional resilientelement disposed within said hollow member, means for rigidly securingone end of said resilient element to said member, gear means including asleeve rotatably disposed within said hollowmember, a stationary gearwithin said hollow member in mesh engagement with said rotatable gearmeans, and means including a cable for interconnecting the other end ofsaid spring and said sleeve, said cable being adapted to be coiled uponsaid sleeve as said drum is rotated to drop said door to a closingposition.

8. Counterbalancing means for a rollable door comprising, incombination, a non-torsional spring adapted for rectilinear movementonly connected to said door, a rotatable hollow men ber upon which saiddoor is rollable, one end of said spring being rigidly secured to saidmember, a gear reduction train rotatably carried by said member, meansincluding a chain for interconnecting the other end of said spring andsaid gear train, and a stationary gear in mesh engagement with said geartrain, said gear reduction train upon rotation of said member in onedirection being adapted to exert a pull upon said chain to expand saidspring.

9. Counterbalancing means for a rollable door comprising, incombination, a non-torsional spring adapted for rectilinear movement connected to said door, a rotatable hollow member upon which said door isrollable, one end of said spring being rigidly secured to said member,gear reduction means rotatably carried by said member, tie-means forinterconnecting the other end of said spring and said gear reductionmeans, said gear reduction means upon rotation of said member in onedirection being adapted to exert a pull upon said tie-means to expandsaid spring, a stationary gear in mesh engagement with said gearreduction means, a second resilient element rigidly secured at one endto said member and connected at the other end to said tie means, and anelement at said other end of said second resilient element for renderingsaid second resilient element efiective only after said first resilientelement has been expanded a predetermined amount.

10. Counterbalancing means for a rollable door comprising, incombination, a non-torsional spring adapted for rectilinear movementconnected to said door, a rotatable hollow member upon which said dooris rollable, one end of said spring being rigidly secured to saidmember, a bevel gear and a pinion rotatably carried by said member, saidbevel gear and pinion being rigidly interconnected, a gear in meshengagement with said pinion, a sprocket gear rigidly connected to saidpreceding gear, means in said member for rotatably carrying said gearand sprocket gear, means including a link chain for interconnecting theother end of said spring and said sprocket gear, said chain beingadapted to be coiled upon said sprocket gear, whereby said spring istensioned upon rotation of said sprocket gear in response to rotation ofsaid hollow member in one direction, and a stationary bevel gear in meshengagement with said rotatable bevel gear.

11. In a counterbalancing device for a rollable door, a rotatable hollowmember for carrying said door, one end of said door being rigidlysecured thereto, a non-torsional coil spring disposed within said hollowmember for counterbalancing the weight of said door, one end of saidspring being rigidly secured to said member, rotatable gear meansincluding a sleeve disposed r within said hollow member, a stationarygear within said hollow member in mesh engagement with said rotatablegear means, and means including a cable for interconnecting the otherend of said spring and said sleeve, said cable being adapted to be woundupon said sleeve in response to rotation of said hollow member in onedirection and thereby exert a pull upon said cable to expand saidspring, said resilient element being adapted for rectilinear movementonly and said gears being adapted for translating rotational movement ofsaid drum to said rectilinear movement of said resilient element.

12. In combination, a building structure having an opening therein, arollable closure adapted for vertical movement in said opening, acounterbalance for said closure comprising a hollow drum, means in saidstructure for rotatabl supporting said drum, a non-torsional resilientelement in said drum being adapted to be expanded or be contractedlongitudinally in response to respective movements of the closure, meansfor rigidly securing one end of said resilient element to said drum, agear rotatably carried in said drum, means including a cable forinterconnecting said gear and the other end of said resilient element,said gear upon rotation of said drum in one direction being adapted toexert a pull upon said cable to expand said resilient element, a gearrigidly secured to said structure in mesh engagement with said rotatablegear, and antifriction elements on said other end of said resilientelement for engagement with the inner surface of said drum, saidantifriction elements being adapted to space said other end of theresilient element from said drum.

13. In combination, a building structure having an opening therein, arollable closure adapted for vertical movement in said opening, acounterbalance for said closure disposed in said opening, saidcounterbalance comprising a hollow drum, means in said structure forrotatably supporting said drum, a non-torsional resilient element insaid drum being adapted to be expanded or be contracted longitudinallyin response to respective movements of the closure, means for rigidlysecuring one end of said resilient element to said drum, a gearrotatably carried in said drum, means including a cable forinterconnecting said gear and the other end of said resilient element,said gear upon rotation of said drum in one direction being adapted toexert a pull upon said cable to expand said resilient element, a gearrigidly secured to said structure in mesh engagement with said rotatablegear, antifriction elements on said other end of said resilient elementfor engagement with the inner surface of said drum, said antifrictionelements being adapted to space said resilient element from said drum,and a second resilient element rigidly secured at one end to the drumand at the other end to the rotatable gear, said second resilientelement being efiectiveas a counterbalance only after said closure hasdescended a predetermined distance.

14. In combination, a building structure hav ing an opening therein, arollable closure adapted for vertical movement in said opening, acounterbalance for said closure disposed in said opening, saidcounterbalance comprising a hollow drum,

means in said structure for rotatably supporting drum, a gear trainrotatably carried in said drum, 1

means including a chain and pin for interconnecting said gear train andthe other end of said resilient element, one end of said chain beingconnected to said pin and the other end of said chain being connected tosaid gear train, said gear train upon rotation of said drum in onedirection being adapted to exert a pull upon said chain to expand saidresilient element, a gear rigidly secured to said structure in meshengagement with said rotatable gear train, antifriction elements on saidother end of said resilient element for engagement with the innersurface of said drum, said antifriction elements being adapted to spacesaid resilient element from said drum, a second resilient elementrigidly secured at one end to the drum and at the other end to the geartrain, and an element having a slot carried by said other end of saidsecond resilient element, said pin being adapted to slide in said slot,whereb said second resilient element is effective as a counterbalanceonly after said closure has descended a predetermined distance. ABRAHAMSCHULTZ.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 575,451 Yost Jan. 19, 1897781,895 McCloud Feb. 7, 1905 958,605 Doring May 1'7, 1910 2,350,286Michelman May 30, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 135,882Austria Dec. 11, 1933

